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Friday, October 31, 2008

Happy Halloween. I thought I should make a Halloween card today to get in the spirit. I used the tree and bats from Spooky Silhouettes and the pumpkins from So Grateful.The challenge at Split Coast yesterday was to Get Cracking, so I decided to try the cracked glass technique, since I have never done that (at least not on purpose).

I sponged the background and then stamped the tree and bats with Black Stazon and heat embossed them with clear embossing powder.

The pumpkins were colored with Koh-i-noor pencils and blended with OMS. Then I cut them out and embossed them with clear embossing powder. I put the image in the freezer for a few minutes and then pulled it out and bent it a little to make the cracks. I had to do that several times before I could get enough cracks, because it kept warming up too fast. Why is it easy to get cracks in your embossing when you don't want them and hard when you do want them?

Below the main image panel is a layer of Green Galore and then Basic Black. The card base is Tango Tangerine.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

This is my fourth week as Melanie's guest designer, featuring her new stamp set, A Year of Flowers. This week I made a framed project, using the large Gerbera Daisy stamp to create cone flowers.

To make the flowers, I stamped the images on white card stock, then colored them with Koh-i-noor pencils, blended with OMS. Then I cut out the flowers and removed petals, leaving the center intact. I varied the number of petals so they would look like they were opened to varying degrees.

Next, I made the stems and layered the flowers on top. Melanie showed an easier way to make cone flowers by inking up a portion of the stamp, but I always mess up when I try to do that. I also don't have to worry about staying in the lines, when coloring, if I cut out my image.

For the background, I sponged Certainly Celery and Old Olive, adding an extra bit of greenery with the foliage stamp from Botanical Dreams. There is a bit of So Saffron in the center to mimic the sun, which is surrounded by Bashful Blue and Ballet Blue.

I layered Pink Pirouette, Basic Black and Sahara Sand behind the image panel and mounted it all in a frame from Michaels.

For another project I made using A Year of Flowers, be sure to check out Melanie's blog. Gina's next release is on November 13 and that means I get an extra week as Melanie's guest designer. Heehee, I swear I didn't bribe her.

There was a cool challenge this week from Unity to use one of the Twilight series book covers as inspiration for a card. I chose to use the fourth book, Breaking Dawn.

And here is my take on it. I used the Dream Tree from Unity with the emboss resist technique. First I stamped the tree on white card stock, with Versa Mark, and heat embossed it with clear embossing powder.

Then I sketched in some lines for the grid. I used post-it's to mask around each square, one at a time, sponging in the black. Next I drew in a drop of blood, using a red craft marker and embossed that also.

After sponging in the grid, I sponged all around the tree with black. I also went over the white squares a bit to soften the edges.

Then I sandwiched the card stock with copier paper and ironed over the embossed areas to remove the embossing. The embossed areas were left nice and crisp white. The sentiment is from Baroque Motifs by Stampin' Up.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Here is a Flowers For Daisy card, from a couple months ago, that I never got around to posting. This was done during my So Saffron/Certainly Celery phase. Oh, I'm still in that phase, aren't I? LOL. I'm trying to control it of late.

I stamped the images with black Stazon and heat embossed them with clear. Then I colored the images with my Prisma Watercolor Pencils. The top oval is So Saffron, sponged with So Saffron and followed by a layer of Basic Black.

The background is Whisper White sponged with So Saffron and Certainly Celery. Then I went back with another stamp from Flowers For Daisy and stamped with Certainly Celery to create a framed foliage look. The sentiment is from Botanical Dreams.

Monday, October 27, 2008

Here is my last card from WCD. The flower stamp is from Gratitude = Joy (Unity) and the butterfly is from Butterfly Beauty (Unity). The sentiment is from Pocket Silhouettes (SU).

I colored the butterfly with Bic markers and embossed it with clear EP. The background on the oval is sponged with Certainly Celery and the card base is Kiwi Kiss.

This is a RAK I received from the super talented and sweet Brandi. I wish you could see this card in person. There are a ton of layers and the colors are so rich. All the circles on the blue panel are double punched and layered, and there is flock on the sheep. So cute! Thank you, Brandi!!!

Saturday, October 25, 2008

I made this card with two Split Coast challenges in mind. The Ways to Use It challenge was to use just one word on your card, and the Limited Supplies challenge was to have a leaf be the focal point and include pink somewhere on your card.

The leaf is colored with Koh-i-noor pencils and the background is sponged. The foliage was stamped with Apricot Appeal and Creamy Caramel.

All the images are from Botanical Dreams(Gina K Designs) by Asela Hopkins. The card layers are Apricot Appeal, Creamy Caramel and Groovy Guava. Ink colors are So Saffron, Summer Sun, Apricot Appeal, Pretty in Pink, Creamy Caramel and Chocolate Chip.

Friday, October 24, 2008

Happy Friday! Here is a card I made yesterday for Hip Hop Thursday at the Unity forums. The challenge was to make a card with stripes. If you look very closely, you'll see I used some striped designer paper from CTMH.

For today's project, I made a card and matching note pad holder, that fits a 3 x 5 scratch pad. I bought a set of 8 of these little scratch pads at Office Max for around $5.

The flowers were stamped and then colored with Koh-i-noor pencils. I added some extra color with a purple craft marker, then cut out the flowers and heat embossed them with clear embossing powder.

To make the background, I cut a circle from scrap paper and used re-positionable tape to hold it in place. Using that as a mask, I sponged the night sky, using Bashful Blue, Ballet Blue, Lavender Lace and Basic Black.

The background panel is backed with a very narrow black panel and again with a layer of Lavender Lace. The card base is Almost Amethyst.

To make the note pad cover, I cut a piece of card stock to 7-1/2 inches and scored at 3-1/16, 3-7/16 and 3-15/16.

Added two horizontal cuts to hold the pen. Glued the wider center scored area down to the back section. Then I glued the scratch pad in place.

Thanks for stopping by. I will be back mid-week with another project using Say it With Flowers, since I neglected it on today's post. Oops!

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

I colored the image with Koh-i-noor pencils, cut it out and heat embossed it with clear embossing powder.

The background is sponged with Certainly Celery and Old Olive ink and it is backed by a layer of So Saffron and Very Vanilla. Below that is a layer of Bali Breeze designer paper and another layer of So Saffron, all mounted on a Very Vanilla card base.

There is going to be a "Land Cruise Party" at the Gina K forums tonight, from 7 - 10 CST, for all of us stampers that didn't get to go on the cruise. Rumor has it that there will be challenges and contests with chances to win stamps sets.

I'll be back tomorrow with another A Year of Flowers project! In the meantime, you can check out Melz Stampz for a few amazing projects, including tutorials, using A Year of Flowers. Also, Cathy Edgar has some beautiful samples.

Have a great day and I hope to see you tonight at the Land Cruisers Party!

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Both of these cards were made for the inspiration challenge at SCS on Saturday. I used this as my inspiration piece.

Check out those dots. My mom gave me a few Sakura glaze pens and I am in love. It's like embossing in a pen. It is hard to tell in the photo, but all those dots are raised and glossy. They dried super fast too.

I made this card first and followed the inspiration more literally. The bird was colored with Koh-i-noor pencils, cut out and embossed with clear embossing powder. I stamped the branch with Certainly Celery ink and then went back and added some low lights with my Koh-i-noor pencils. The background was sponged with So Saffron, Summer Sun and Apricot Appeal.

This one was a looser interpretation of the inspiration. I just got that Martha Stewart lacy leaf punch and had to try it out. The Primas are new, too, from Limelight Papercrafts. They have a great starter pack that comes with matching flowers, ribbon and designer paper, all made by Prima. It came with a ton of flowers, in a variety of colors.

I just got this quote stamp from Unity. Isn't it awesome. They have a lot of fantastic quotes that you that are sold as singles.

Marcus Russell is 17, and has been battling brain cancer for 2 years. He was diagnosed on Oct. 2nd of 2006 with a brain tumor and had surgery to remove it the very next day. He underwent chemo and radiation treatment and did quite well during that time. Marcus has been very active in marching band and church. His family, friends and community have been very supportive of him. While on his Make A Wish trip in Hawaii in August, Marcus became very ill and it was then that they found a new tumor. Within a couple of week's time he developed multiple tumors throughout his brain. He started a brand new chemo treatment (which made him quite sick) and this last week the MRI showed that it wasn't working. He is already blind and unable to walk. They've been told he only has days left.

When I asked Nancy what they needed, she said: “Just asking for prayers would be awesome. Prayers really do help. Back when we placed Jessica into hospice I got so many emails with good thoughts, prayers and love that I knew I would be okay. I also knew that God heard each and every prayer and those who offered up the prayers were also blessed.”

Your prayers and RAKs would be amazing. I had one other idea that you might be able to help with:If you are able, would you consider putting Marcus's pic and part of this post on your blog? Can we let others know who he is, that he was here? When Karen asked Marcus what he would like the world to know about him and he said, "I am the dark night - I am batman". (When you read their blogs, you'll see they are always ready to lighten the mood with a joke, no matter the circumstances) Nancy says: "He is a man of few words and he doesn't even want to think about what to say. (But they were excited about this idea of posting his pic and gave it their blessing) "BTW, Marcus has always been a fan of batman and a WWII buff. (Family) recently took Marcus to an air force base and the airman presented Marcus with a helmet and other things. They were impressed with Marcus's knowledge of the jets and he even knew all about a new one that will be available next year."

You can also leave comments for the family and get updates at: http://www.carepage.com/ (set up an account and then click on "visit a carepage".... enter "marcusrussell" no spaces - and it will take you to it)

My heart just breaks for them all, this post doesn't begin to do their story justice, but I wanted to be able to do something. I'm praying they all feel God's presence with them now and His comfort and love (and maybe, even a miracle.)

God bless, thank you for reading.

Please pass this on, so we can show Marcus and his family how very much we care.

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Here is a card I made during Hip Hop Thursday. I used a stamp from Christmas Joy, from Unity. I colored the image with Koh-i-noor pencils, and then embossed it with clear embossing powder. Next, I sponged the background with Bashful Blue and Ballet Blue inks.

It looks plain to me, so I may add some ribbon or gems, just haven't decided where yet.

The challenge was to use only eyelets and ribbons as embellishments and only one piece of designer paper. We were also limited to no punches or die cut type tools.

I colored the deer with Koh-i-noor pencils, blended with OMS. I cut them out and embossed them with clear embossing powder. I sponged the background and then stamped the snowflakes with white pigment ink. I also added glitter to the snowflakes and to the foreground.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Do you ever make and card and just have so much fun? I always enjoy stamping, but some cards are exceptionally fun to make and this was one of them. It is my second week as Melanie's guest designer, and this is the card I made for this week. Be sure to visit Melanie, to see the project I made for her blog.

I made the branch by using the clustered leaves stamp from A Year of Flowers. There is a little mini tutorial to follow if you are interested in how I did this. The Lotus is the large Chrysanthemum and the lily leaves are just one of the regular leaves from the set, turned, so that the rounded part is facing out, with the pointy end tucked under the Lotus blossom.

To make the branch, start by stamping the leaves, the first time pointing straight up, then alternate pointing from side to side. Try to keep the bottoms of the twig almost in a straight line, but not exactly in line with each other. I recommend practicing on scratch paper until you get the spacing the way you like.

Then just use your craft marker to connect the lines. You can see how not having the stamps in too straight of a line creates a more natural look.

Continue until you get to the last twig and extend your lines a little further. Don't worry if you have places that a bit jagged or bumpy. Trees have knots and shadows. Any mistakes will most likely make your branch look more realistic.

Here it is after I colored it. After that, I just cut it out to use on my card.

All the images are colored using Koh-i-noor pencils and cut out for placement on the card. I sponged the background to resemble water and sky. I used the same leaf stamp to go around the edges, with Certainly Celery ink.

I used my new flourish punch again. There may be an addiction developing here. LOL. Additional layers are Basic Black, Pacific Point and Basic Gray.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

How about my DH, Mike! There is a fun challenge going on in the Unity forums, for us to get our husbands or significant others, to make a card. I can't believe he was actually willing to do it.

He calls it his, "manly zen butterfly card." He used Mocha Chica designer paper for the background and River Rock (retired SU) for the card base. The butterfly stamp is from Butterfly Beauty and the bamboo is from Gratitude = Joy, both from Unity.

At one point, I looked over and saw him inking up an unmounted stamp without putting it on a block. I managed not to laugh and handed him an acrylic block. My bad, I should have realized he wouldn't know that.

He asked me for bright yellow paper and I handed him a piece of nice yellow cardstock. He took one look at it and said, "that's goldenrod, I wan bright yellow." So out came the YoYo Yellow. Hehehe, there is more where that came from.

I love the double diagonal background he came up and he did a great job cutting out those butterflies. He even came up with the idea of having the wings raised. I was really impressed with his finished card. What a great sport!

The challenge was inspired by the Unity boys last week, who spent Hip Hop Thursday, last week, making cards. You can see their work here.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

I have been admiring so many gorgeous cards using a stamp set from Stampin' Up, called Upsy Daisy, and kicking myself for not getting it. Well, I was looking at Melanie's set A Year of Flowers and started thinking maybe I could make a similar look, using the little Chrysanthemum flower.

I put the flower and stem on my acrylic block, rather than doing it in two steps. I did this because I am lazy and I knew I was just going to color it in, anyway, so I could just fill in the gap between the stem and flower.

I repositioned the stem, straightening it or adding more curve, before stamping each flower, to make them look different from each other.

After stamping three flowers, I cleaned the stamp and used my craft marker, to ink up just a portion of the stamp, to make a few smaller flowers.

Here is what I had after stamping the additional flowers. Next, I used my black marker to fill in the flowers and stems and connect the stems to the flowers.

I used a Versa Mark pen to go over each flower and stem and then heat embossed the images with clear embossing powder.

Sponged some So Saffron across the middle.

Sponged Bashful Blue and Ballet Blue to create a sky and Certainly Celery, with a bit of Old Olive for the foreground.

Before assembling my card, I added some grasses using my craft marker. The panel beneath the image panel is Whisper White, sponged with Kiwi Kiss and Old Olive, then run through the Cuttlebug, with the swiss dots folder. The flourishes on either side of the card are punched out using my new Flourish punch from EK Success. The card base is Kiwi Kiss.

The larger chrysanthemum/lotus stamp from this set would also work well for this technique.

Tips for drawing grass: Use a medium tipped pen. Rest the side of your hand on your writing surface. Place the pen at the bottom of the paper. Bend your wrist in a sweeping motion away from you, lifting at the end of the motion. Doing it this way will create a more natural curve to your grass and a sharp tip to the grass as your pen lifts from the paper. Be sure to practice first.

Here is a pic of a cute little frog that has taken up residence in our pond. I love frogs!

Monday, October 13, 2008

Good morning. Here is another World Cardmaking Day card I made. The two foliage stamps are from Gratitude = Joy (Unity Stamp Co). I stamped and embossed the images and then sponged around them with So Saffron, More Mustard and Pumpkin Pie. The sentiment is from a Gina K set called Autumn Leaves.

Saturday, October 11, 2008

This is my first time using Rupa's new set, The Magic of Christmas from Gina K Designs. I am loving this stamp set. It has a ton of images. I used Jen del Muro's awesome sketch from last week. I meant to use it all week and didn't get to it until today.

I colored the sleigh with Koh-i-noor pencils and heat embossed it with clear embossing powder. The background is sponged with Creamy Caramel. The three vertical panels were stamped with four of the five snowflake stamps and sponged with Certainly Celery and Old Olive.

The cardstock colors I used were Very Vanilla, Whisper White, Basic Black, Kiwi Kiss and Riding Hood Red.

Friday, October 10, 2008

The flowers were stamped, then colored with Koh-i-noor pencils and blended with OMS. Then I cut them out and embossed them with clear embossing powder. They are placed on a Very Vanilla panel, that I sponged with Apricot Appeal ink.

The larger panel is Apricot Appeal card stock, sponged with Apricot Appeal ink. The card base is Very Vanilla, which I again, sponged with Apricot Appeal.

Hopefully, I won't need this anytime soon, but with flu season approaching, I suspect I will.

Here's hoping you have a happy (and healthy) weekend! Thanks for stopping by.

Gina K Senior Designers and Illustrators

Copyright

My work is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 License. All designs and tutorials are provided to help inspire your creativity and may be copied for personal use, and, if uploaded, should be properly attributed. Copying my designs for submission to contests and magazines, etc is not allowed. Thank you for your understanding.